Oilers' Kami Kabange returns to Rwanda

Ugandan basketball is saying bye to a mega star and a potential future star as Kami Kabange and Mathiew Ochieng prepare to change address ahead of the 2017 season. 

Two-time Finals MVP Kami Kabange has just claimed his and City Oilers' fourth National Basketball League championship after a 4-1 series victory over Betway Power in the belated 2016 finals but despite an unprecedented run of success, the Rwandan is return home to join REG for the upcoming campaign. 

"Kami was given an offer we were unwilling to match," revealed Oilers manager Mohammed Santur. "He was still under contract with us till 2018 but they have given him such a good offer we could not stand in his way." 

As for Ochieng, the bruising talent who captained Uganda at the U-18 African Championships last year, the next stop on his promising journey is America's Western Oklahoma State College. 

The 19 year-old has received an athletics scholarship that will take him from the bench of the KIU Titans to the enriching environs of intercollegiate American sports. In the next few years, Ochieng should develop into many times the player he would be in the NBL. 

Ochieng joins Sammy Kalwanyi and Claire Lamunu on the increasingly widening road from Ugandan hoops to American college basketball, a road that could become very critical in sustaining Uganda's new-found appetite for high-level international basketball. 

Kabange's second-coming (he briefly played for the Falcons in 2011) has been one endless joy ride, with the Oilers claiming the Zone V championship and a debut appearance the FIBA Africa Clubs Championships in four seasons on top of their NBL exploits. 

"It was and is still a very hard decision for me to leave City Oilers," Kami told New Vision Sport. "They have done so many good things for me and I owe them a lot." 

The Oilers have turned to legendary forward Stephen Omony as Kami's replacement, with a two-year deal in the final stages of completion.